"These two disciplines are what the rest of the world practice and not as popular in the U.S. due to the aggressive and less conservative scoring and safety protocols," Matcats coach Steve Richardson said. "The Matcats have all along had a very successful history with freestyle and Greco Roman, winning the team points championships last year and placing more at the Central Regional national qualifier than any other event in 2017. This year, we have doubled our numbers and are looking to be even more successful."

NUWAY Duals

In the season ending folkstyle, the Matcats competed in the National United Wrestling Association for Youth Club Team National Duals at the Lansing Center as the girls team earned a runner-up national placement.

"These girls worked extremely hard against dozens of teams from the Midwest and Canada," Richardson said. "I’m so proud of these girls for the effort demonstrated. It was also nice seeing their brothers from the boys team cheering them on."

The age-group tournament was for kindergarten through eighth grade.

Earning boys victories for the Matcats in the opening round against the 2017 national champion Illinois squad were Beck Yurkunas, Benny Leece, Antonio Nauss, Boller, Searing, Meyers and Richardson.

"Unfortunately, we tied the match in points losing by criteria," Richardson said.

Following the setback, the Matcats rebounded by capturing five straight matches and winning their pool, defeating teams from Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Canada.

"Our Matcats have never had an easy path and facing the defending champions was exactly what we wanted," Richardson said. "This head-to-head was exciting for us. Every one of our Matcats wrestled beyond well."

Contact Brad Emons at bemons@hometownlife.com. Follow him on Twitter: @BradEmons1.